I think that because today is the first day of fall AND it's Friday, it's time for a post about dogs.
I'm typing this while my Schipperke, Gizmo, is lying upside down on the floor beside my feet. I learned this week that if you don't let him in the house for 48 hours because it's raining and he looks like a bedraggled, pathetic stray, he gets a massive entitlement complex and howls at the back door for
hours. It's even more fun if he also gets fed outside because he's convinced that eating outside isn't really eating and that there must be another bowl hiding in the house somewhere with his real food.
Speaking of dogs, I brushed Speed Bump the not-quite-so-oversized Corgi this week. I found a Shih Tzu hiding in his undercoat.
ALSO speaking of dogs, we've had quite the predicament with the dog across the street. He's a Rottweiler. Now, I'm not opposed to Rotties - my MIL has two, and one of them, Toby, is a lover. Darcy's totally wacked out, but Toby's sweet. M2 calls him her baby. But this dog across the street is a problem. He's getting older, and the older he gets, the more territorial he gets. And apparently he thinks our yard is part of his territory. A few months ago, the problem really got started when he came into the yard and had a go at Oz, but the neighbors were good and built a pen. For a while, they even kept him in it (how gracious of them!). I could let my kids play in the front yard, and M1 could even go out to the mailbox (which is on our side of the road) to get or send mail. That's how it should be!
However, they got lazy or decided that the dog wasn't really a threat; I don't know which. Either way, Cosmo started wandering again... but only at random times, because sometimes he would be in the house and sometimes they'd still pen him. So my kids were allowed to play in the front yard as long as they couldn't see him or he was in his pen. This was most of the time. It wasn't ideal, but it was suitable. After all, we do have a good-sized back yard, too.
Two weeks ago, they dismantled the pen. I have no idea why. I've never really talked to them (hazard of living in the country... we've been here 9 years and I still can't tell you most of our neighbors' names... our house is still known by the previous owners' name), and with that dog, it's not like I can just wander over and have a chat. But I suspected that the dismantling of the pen would be their downfall, and I was right.
It's getting cooler here now - highs in the 80s - and there are several preteen and teenage kids who live on the street. Some of them are friends. One of them is in some sort of sports and likes to go running. Some of the kids even try to ride their bikes, though this street really isn't good for that - no sidewalks and crazy drivers. Sure enough, Cosmo tried to take at least one of them out. The kid got away safely, but I'm sure he was scared to death. I try to keep an eye out of my kitchen window for things like that because if someone's getting mauled, they're generally not in a good place to call 911, ya know?? Still, I'm not home all day and can't sit and stare out my window when I am, either.
The last straw came when the natural gas guy came to install one of their remote meters that can be read from his truck. Cosmo went absolutely nuts. The guy was throwing everything at him - including the meter he came to install - just to try to save himself. I guess it was sheer luck that the homeowner was able to get hold of Cosmo, because he doesn't listen at all.
Now, I only know all this because our Horse Lady is going riding this weekend. We don't have a circle drive, but our neighbor to the west does, so she parks in his driveway and walks her horse over to the trailer so she doesn't have to try to reverse in or out. Earlier this week, she was getting Cherokee reshod, and Cosmo came across the street into our yard - again! She had to hop in her truck to get away. I had
no idea about this. So she hates Cosmo as much as we do.
Thankfully, The Horse Lady has known our neighbor for decades because they knew one another growing up. She called her up and read her the riot act about the dog and told her in no uncertain terms that if it tried to do anything to her or if she saw it loose again, she'd be calling the sheriff's office.
You have no idea how happy this made me.
But the best news was that the neighbor has promised that the dog
should be gone by Sunday. Since the meter reader incident, they've figured out the dog is a liability (DUH) and needs to go, so they're having a rescue operation come get him.
I'm ecstatic. I can't wait until my kids can play in the front yard without me out there to keep an eye on things. M1 has been quite annoyed that he hasn't been able to go get the mail, and he'll be able to do that again. Things will go back to the way they should be!
That makes for a great first day of fall, doesn't it? :)
